He embraced Umar and Prince Ahmad, clapping them on the back in good fellowship and letting them do the same to him. The monkey Verethran gave him a comical salute, while El-Hadar and the crew gave him a rousing cheer. Jafar embraced Leila in quite a different manner than he’d embraced Umar and Ahmad, and received a long, passionate kiss in return. He could not embrace poor Selima, much as he would have loved to, so he had to settle for giving her a confident smile. She was getting harder to see these days, even in daylight, which served all the more as a reminder of what he was about.
I must hurry, Jafar thought. It’s getting late for her.
Standing at the side of the ship, he said, “If I start to drown, that’s the signal to pull me out.” Then, wrapping the cloak of invisibility around h
